Weekend in Camargue part two

The day after the party here we took a day of relax . As we love so much fish and the seaside we decided to have lunch in "Le Grau du Roi" , a village on the coast and then to make a "siesta" at the beach . 

The restaurant were we had lunch is called "Le Palangre" see their site here

We had a tour of the port were the most of restaurants are and then decided to have lunch here
and I must say that everything was delicious with very fresh fish and lots of tasty vegetables .Before leaving I asked to enter into the kitchen to make  my compliments to the chef and then I realised why everything was so good : he was skinny annd with an healthy look   ! I commanded a traditional recipe of Camargue  "Brasucade de moules " here the recipe in french : it's very easy to do and nice to share with friends on summertime .

Brasucade of mussels

For 4 servings
2,5 kg of mussels
25 cl of extra-virgin olive oil (possibly of Provence )
Thyme , rosemary and laurel 
1 clove of garlic crashed
freshly grounded black pepper
1 teaspoon of Pastis
Arrange all the ingredients for thee marinade in a jar , close and let stand  for one day at least ( better few days )
Wash the mussels , put them in a big Paella plate and on the fire ( you'll need a big fire , better on wood like in the video here ) throw the water that mussel will eject , then add thhe marinade and let cook about 5 minutes . To eat immediately with friends  while tasting a chilly Rosé !

My neighbor's plate!

Dory's stuffed  rolls & vegetables

Tartare of shrimps and fruits , a nestful of flavors

Restaurant Le Palangre

56,Quai Général de Gaulle

30240 Le Grau du Roi

Phone 0033 (0)4 66 51 76 30

Lamb's stew of Avignon

I discovered this ancient provençal recipe on the book "De l'agneau de Provence" by Robert Eymony ,that I knew some years ago .He offered me his book that's not only about recipes but much about the importance of sheeps and lambs in Provençal civilization. I taught this recipe during a cooking-class in Goult's Castle (you can find Tarte Tatin here )

La Daube d’Avignon  (l’abodo avignonnenco)

For 6 servings

1,200 gr of lamb’s meat chopped in squares of about  4 cm

700 gr of yellow onions

700 gr of carrots

100 gr of lard  roughly chopped

120 gr of thin-chopped onion

120 gr of thin-chopped carrot

A piece about 5cm of length of orange peel (organic !! )

Bouquet garni ( thyme & laurel)

250ml of red wine

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Salt ,freshly grounded  blackpepper, 1 garlic clove

Put the lard , the chopped onions & carrots and the oil in a frying pan,let cook gently for about 15 mn , without burning

Then add this mixture in a large saucepan , put on the fire , add the meat and stir over medium heat for 4/5 minutes , add the onions and carrots chopped , the orange peel ,1 teaspoon of salt ( you can taste at the end if it’s enough ) the ‘ bouquet garni’ and the wine ,mix everything ,reduce the heat to the lowest setting Cover the pan and cook slowly for 2/3 hours until the meat is tender .Taste the salt and add the pepper.

You can serve with some rice or mashed potatoes
Note : if you have an hearthenware pan you can cook in the oven , covered , at 120° for 4 hours or till the meat is tender ( it depends on the quality of the meat )

Mashed  potatoes x6

1kg of potatoes ( bjinties is the best for mashing )

Salt

Pinch of nutmeg

Milk  about 250 ml

30gr of butter

Peel the potatoes , cut them in 4 , cook in a steam till soft. Warm the milk , mash the potatoes in a saucepan , add the butter , a teaspoon of salt and the milk ( add little by little ) stir at a medium heat , flavor with the nutmeg ,taste the salt ad serve hot.

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